Conventional distributed power amplifiers are able to cover many discrete operational frequency bands due to inherent broadband operation. The conventional distributed amplifiers show high signal-to-noise ratios outside of an operational band when compared with a narrow band amplifier. The distributed amplifiers increase the signal-to-noise ratio in the out-of-band range when used for narrow band applications. The signal-to-noise ratio is important for receiver applications so the distributed amplifiers are not commonly used for low noise amplifier applications. Another issue of conventional distributed power amplifiers is a higher unwanted harmonic power generation. Due to the broad frequency band capability, the distributed amplifiers often have high gain at second harmonic frequencies and at third harmonic frequencies.
It would be desirable to implement a balanced distributed power amplifier for a monolithic microwave integrated circuit.